Will Brady's Bunch Respond?

            When Bernard Pollard reached out from the clutches of Sammy Morris that ultimately shredded the most important knee of football, waves of shock dispersed quickly around the NFL. Never before has an injury of this magnitude been seen on opening day, and the domino effect that has started may continue for years and years to come.

            The quarterback is viewed as the most important void to be filled when building a great NFL franchise. But this raises the question, is it the most important position in sports? Looking at the three other major American sports; basketball, hockey, and baseball, there are a few particular positions that stick out. In basketball, having a dominant center is vital to building a true championship contender. An overpowering center that has the ability to play a significant role on defense and be a scoring threat can put a team over the top. Kareem-Abdul Jabar, Bill Russell, and Shaquille O’Neal support that theory. However, a superb point guard can’t carry a team to the same type of success that these three did. Jason Kidd, Allen Iverson, and Steve Nash have arguably been the best point guards in this generation. How much hardware did these guys get for their teams? None.

            The common theory in baseball today is that an ace or a dominant closer can help set a team over the top. Except, teams have proven to win without the likes of either two. The Mets have been playing their best baseball of the season since their All-Star closer went out. When the Chicago White Sox won the World Series in 2005, can anyone recall who the ace actually was? Or was it just a solid staff of starters that contributed equally as much to their terrific season? Baseball has important positions, but none of which can stack up against the most crucial positions in other sports.

            Hockey is the sport that may have the most important position to fill in all of sports, that being goalie. In the post-season, it is impossible to take home the Cup without a good goalie. A dominant one only helps the cause. In football, a bone-crushing defense can overcome a mediocre offense to hoist the Lombardi. In baseball, superb pitching can make up for lack of run production. In hockey, it is impossible to win in spite of your goalie. Essentially, the team would have to outscore their goalie for 16 wins in order to reach the promised land. That is too much to ask even for a sensational offense. So with respect to the quarterback, center, and closer/ace, it’s fairly simple to say that the goalie is the most important critical to a team’s dreams of taking home the trophy.

            Looking at the quarterback in-depth, it’s fair to feel it is the most important position in all sports. Die-hard fans are enamored with the physical nature of the position. If the quarterback has an arm and accuracy given from the football gods, but can’t make decisions half a second faster than he should, then his quarterback rating is in the 60s and he’ll be booed out of the stadium. But if the quarterback has all the smarts and the ability to break down defenses to perfection, yet can’t throw it between two defenders with enough velocity and accuracy, then he too is chased out of the league. Most starting NFL quarterbacks can boast that they are at least adequate in both categories, but not good enough to be considered elite. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady can. That’s what makes them so special. In this generation, points peak the interest of the average fan. No one is better at putting them up then Manning and Brady. Watching Peyton at the line is a marvel, no one knows what he is doing but he depicts it as if he knows where all 11 defenders are going on the play, and a few seconds after he snaps the ball he finds Reggie Wayne over the middle for 17 yards. Manning and Brady will be the first to tell you that in terms of natural ability, they aren’t as ahead of the league as everyone thinks. Bryon Leftwich has a gun, but his release was simply too slow and as a result he’s not fit to be a starter. Vince Young is blessed with tremendous ability, but his weakness to adversity and mood changes are hampering his progression.

     With Brett Favre’s Jets and the feisty Bills to contend with, the Patriots are going to have their work cut out for them. But they are built for it. Despite narrowly pulling out a 17-10 victory against one of the worst team’s in football, Matt Cassel’s Pats head into the Meadowlands for a match up against the Jets. Statement games are usually a ploy by the networks to attract more viewers earlier on in the year, but this game may actually be one for both sides. For the Jets, it’s to do something that hasn’t been done in a long time, and establish a sense of supremacy in the East. For the Patriots, it’s to prove that they aren’t just going to roll down and die with Matt Cassel at the helm. Come Sunday night, the result will be of the latter. Bill Belichick’s legend got tainted massively with Spygate, but it’s silly to ignore the fact he is one of the best coaches in any generation. He’ll keep the attitude the way it’s supposed to be, and other players will step up for him. They’ll miss Brady, but nine or ten is in their future. Whether or not that is good enough to win the division will be determined depending on how quick Brett picks his game up with the Jets and if the Bills can live up to their own hype that they set on themselves this past off-season. The question is, if Matt Cassel plays better then expected, is Tom Brady’s legacy tarnished a bit? Cassel doesn’t have any tools that wow anyone, and hasn’t played a full game since high school. If he can succeed, could that mean it was merely the system that allowed Brady to be so good for all these years? The answer is no, because the system doesn’t make Brady be spot on in the last drive of the Super Bowl, or throw for 50 touchdowns. Still, the question may be brought up at some point.

            Looking at the AFC East is shortsighted; this Brady injury affects the entire league! This is specifically true in the AFC, where there appears to be no dominant team. The Colts laid an egg in their opening game at Lucas Oil Stadium, and the Panthers upset the Chargers at home. Pittsburgh looks like to be the most impressive team right now, with an effective quarterback and the potential for a run-it-down-your-throat running game. Their defense doesn’t look too shabby either, highlighted by a physical linebacker core. I expect the Colts to revert back to form soon enough, but in the playoffs they are by no means unbeatable. Right now, whichever six make the playoffs have a wide-open path to a free trip to Tampa. And whoever meets that squad in the Super Bowl will be relieved to see that it won't be the Patriots.